Chapter 329: Chapter 325: Purple Moon Fairy
"Myriad Swords Sect? I’ve heard a little about them. Apparently, they’re a brand-new sect that rose up in Qing Province. Now they’re the overlords, ruling over the province and forcing all the major powers there to submit."
"Tsk, tsk, ruling over Qing Province... how majestic is that? Our Cyan Cloud Country is just a tiny nation in Qing Province. Any random sect from there could sweep through us. A power like the Myriad Swords Sect could probably destroy our country just by stomping their foot."
"What’s the point of talking about this? A power like the Myriad Swords Sect is too far removed from us. Who knows if this news about a great personage gracing Cyan Cloud Country is even true."
The crowd broke into a flurry of discussion.
In the end, news in Cyan Cloud Country was simply too outdated. After all, with no Martial Artists coming in from the outside, how could information possibly get in?
It was like a small village, isolated from the rest of the world; lacking a flow of information, how could it possibly know what was happening outside?
For them, just knowing the name of the Myriad Swords Sect was already quite an accomplishment. Any further details were beyond their reach.
...
「Luoyang City, Demon Mist Mountain Range.」
In the past, this place was a famously perilous region. Even experts from the Innate List wouldn’t dare step into the Demon Fog, lest they risk never returning.
But now, amidst the roiling Demon Fog, stood rows of imperial traveling palaces, grand and austere.
Two years ago, when Ning Jiang left, he altered the Arrays here, turning the place into Kunlun’s main base and stationing its many experts inside.
This was partly because the location was safe enough, and partly because Ning Jiang had discovered Spiritual Qi here. He had therefore set the place up as a cultivation ground for Kunlun, so that they could break through to the Spirit Realm.
"Chu Bai, take this!"
At that moment, a long cry echoed from high in the sky.
It came from a brawny giant of a man, his muscles rippling with explosive power. His head was completely bald, without a single hair.
This was the Vajra King, Meng Bubai!
He gripped a long staff with both hands and brought it crashing down, the air cracking with a sonic boom from the unstoppable force.
Facing him was an elegant, plain-looking middle-aged man who exuded no ostentatious aura. It was none other than the Sword King, Chu Bai.
Chu Bai held his sword in one hand, his expression somewhat grave. As the staff came crashing down, he thrust his sword forward.
This was not a head-on clash, but a strike of finesse, like using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds.
The blade pressed against the staff, and with a gentle tremor, it deflected most of the force.
"Void-Breaking Blade."
Just then, the hum of a blade sounded from the side. A long saber came slicing through the air, silent and traceless, unleashing a massive saber aura.
The one who had unleashed this slash was an old man.
The Saber King, Duan Wuya!
Among the three veteran Kings, he had originally been the oldest, with a head of white hair. But now, he looked twenty years younger. His white hair had turned jet-black, his skin was firm, and his eyes gleamed with a brilliant light.
This was because he had broken through to the Spirit Realm, and his mortal flesh had transformed into a Spirit Body.
Upon stepping into the Spirit Realm, one’s lifespan could reach five hundred years. Moreover, through Qi Refining and Grain Avoidance, one no longer needed to eat, and could survive just by absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
"Sword Light Condensed Silk."
Chu Bai didn’t dare underestimate the slash. His longsword flashed, and he thrust out a beam of Sword Aura—swift and urgent, emitting a piercing shriek.
Instant Sword Technique!
Before leaving Cyan Cloud Country, Ning Jiang had left behind a large number of Martial Techniques, including the Instant Sword Technique.
The Instant Sword Technique was originally a Martial Art for the Innate Realm, but it contained a move—Sword Light Condensed Silk—whose power, once mastered, was comparable to the Spirit Realm.
BANG.
The massive saber aura was shattered, but the Sword Aura continued onward, its momentum unbroken, piercing through.
"Break."
Duan Wuya had to slash three times in succession to finally shatter the Sword Aura.
"As expected of the Swordsmanship he left behind. It’s truly formidable," Duan Wuya exclaimed in amazement.
"The warm-up is over. Let’s see your real skills," Chu Bai said slowly.
"Alright."
Duan Wuya and Meng Bubai attacked Chu Bai at the same time.
This time, they unleashed even fiercer Saber and Staff Techniques. These two Martial Techniques were true Spirit Level Martial Arts, a notch stronger than even the Instant Sword Technique.
Chu Bai also stopped using the Instant Sword Technique, switching instead to a Sword Technique called the Thunderbolt Sword. As its name implied, the Sword Techniques of this art were swift and fierce, each move like a clap of thunder.
All three of their Spirit Level Martial Arts had been left behind by Ning Jiang.
In Ning Jiang’s eyes, they were malleable talents who simply lacked resources. As long as they had enough, their achievements would not be low.
It was with this belief that Ning Jiang had left them with sufficient resources.
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!
In the sky, Sword Auras shot out, Saber Qi swept across, and the shadows of the staff multiplied.
This was the countless-th time they had clashed. In the two years since Ning Jiang’s departure, the three of them would immediately spar whenever one of them made a breakthrough.
After all, combat was the best way to test one’s strength and improve.
The one thing that hadn’t changed was that the Sword King, Chu Bai, always had the upper hand. Every time, the other two had to team up just to fight him to a standstill.
"Watch out!"
After a hundred moves, Sword King Chu Bai’s expression turned stern. A grave look also flashed across the faces of Meng Bubai and Duan Wuya.
BOOM.
The next moment, a piercing aura shot up into the sky.
Sword Intent!
However, this Sword Intent was still crude, not even reaching the level of Half-Step Sword Intent.
As this Sword Intent erupted, Chu Bai’s attacks became even sharper. Each of his strikes forced the other two to focus all their concentration just to defend.
SHLICK.
A few dozen breaths later, a lock of Meng Bubai’s hair was sliced off by Sword Qi, and a sword mark appeared on Vajra King Meng Bubai’s body.
And this was only because Chu Bai was holding back; otherwise, both of them would have been in mortal danger.
"Sigh... just like old times. We’re still a step behind you."
Duan Wuya sheathed his saber and gave a bitter laugh.
Back then, he and Meng Bubai had been no match for Chu Bai. To defeat him, one had gone to the Great Wilderness and the other to the Ice Plains, both training arduously for ten years to achieve a breakthrough.
But they never expected that their ten years of secluded training would lead them into a whole new era, one where the strongest person wasn’t Sword King Chu Bai, but a young man named Ning Jiang.
"I’m only a single step ahead of you. Once you comprehend Saber Intent and Staff Intent, you won’t be weaker than me," Chu Bai said.
Every weapon, when mastered to the extreme, possesses its own Intent.
"Besides, the truly strong one now isn’t me, but her. First there was Young Master Wushuang, now there’s the Purple Moon Fairy. The new generation surpasses the old... I have to admit I’m getting old."
A look of resignation flashed across Chu Bai’s face as his gaze drifted down toward a courtyard below.
In the courtyard was a breathtakingly beautiful woman dressed in purple. A hazy purple aura enveloped her, lending her an air of mystery and nobility.
Across from her sat another woman in a snow-white dress. Like an Iceberg Beauty, she had an aura that kept others a thousand miles away.